"Isn't my name Ping'an? Dalang will definitely return. Don't worry; tomorrow I'll go ask around for you."
"Lucky for you that your name is so apt; otherwise, do you think I'd keep a freeloader like you?" Granny Tai looked at the meat in her bowl and scolded, "Eat up, or you'll die looking like a ghost from starvation."
He Ping'an chuckled, took the scolding, and ate even more.
Granny Tai only had a sharp tongue.
Besides, at her age, she couldn't eat too much greasy food. It was very generous of her to have cooked a bowl of meat today.
There was still some hot water on the stove, left for her to bathe.
He Ping'an took off her dirty clothes, washed herself thoroughly in the room, and scrubbed off all the grime. She felt much lighter.
Through the blurry window paper, moonlight grew brighter. She looked down at her body.
At sixteen, she was still terribly thin.
After the long journey here, she hadn't eaten or drunk well, and her menses hadn't come at all.
She wore Liu Dalang's old clothes. Granny Tai said she looked exactly like him. But staring at her face in the water, He Ping'an found it absurd—could Liu Dalang have had feminine features?
If so, once in the army, he might have...
"Ahem."
He Ping'an slapped her own face lightly, driving away those random thoughts. Before the water cooled completely, she hurriedly got up to avoid catching cold.
Liu Dalang's bedroom was now hers.
He Ping'an wrung out her hair and lay down on the bed.
The dried bedding had a clean smell of soap pods, and it was wonderfully warm. In all her travels, only here had she truly slept soundly.
No beggars or bandits on the road, no hard, damp stones, no snakes, ants, or poisonous insects. He Ping'an sighed, thinking she was finally living a good life.
She closed her eyes in contentment.
Her freshly washed black hair lay on one side, shimmering faintly in the moonlight, spilling like water over the indigo bed mat.
It was like the darkest brushstroke falling on the coarsest paper, startlingly vivid.
The next day, just before dawn, there was a knock at the door.
Granny Tai, light sleeper due to age, dressed herself and went to see. Even before she reached the door, she was grumbling, "In such a rush, are you trying to get reincarnated? Come knocking at this hour, troubling these old bones—I'll charge you extra, much extra, or it won't cover my coffin money."
Creak—
The back door opened, revealing a familiar face.
A young man carrying a bundle, with a smile in his eyes and curved brows.
Though he was darker, thinner, and haggard, Granny Tai recognized him at once: her son!
"Am I dreaming?"
Liu Dalang laughed, "I heard you scolding me from afar. It's no dream—I'm back."
He took Granny Tai's hand, feeling the warmth of a living person. Tears squeezed from her eyes as she complained, "Knocking at the door but not saying a word—really full of mischief."
Liu Dalang turned and closed the door, still smiling: "After so many days apart, I had so much to say, but when I got to the door, it all got stuck."
He explained, "The camp planned to release me after Grain in Ear, but as luck would have it, the newly appointed Thousand Household Lin had family arriving. He was afraid something might happen on the road without timely medical care, so he ordered me to accompany them."
Granny Tai wiped her tears, "It's good you're back. Have you eaten breakfast?"
Liu Dalang shook his head, set down his bundle, and was about to toss it into the room.
Granny Tai, old and forgetful, only remembered when he opened the door and stood there frozen: someone was in that room!
Liu Dalang turned and gently closed the door; his mind still lingered on that bolt of black satin.
Granny Tai kicked him on the leg, annoyed, "If I'd known you were coming back, I'd have made her sleep in my room last night. Now you don't even have a place to rest."
"Who is she?"
"A helper your mother found. She's been a godsend these past days. Without her, you might be seeing your mother's corpse now."
Liu Dalang looked around the tidy little courtyard and nodded repeatedly, "Then I must thank her properly."
"What's this girl's name?"
Granny Tai told him He Ping'an's name.
She peeked through the window and, seeing her still asleep, quietly pulled her son away.
Liu Dalang glanced back and laughed to himself.
"In just a few months, you treat her like a daughter? Now that Father's dead and I'm away, you should still be cautious about everything."
The two went to the kitchen.
Granny Tai washed rice to cook, hearing his tone, she scolded, "Your mother isn't blind!"
"Then why take in a woman of unknown origin?"
"She knows some medicine and works hard. She just ran away from marriage; she's no bandit. Why can't I keep her?"
Liu Dalang lit the firewood. Orange flames spurted from the gaps in the wood. He blew on them and laughed, "In that case, when she wakes up, I'll acknowledge her as a sister."